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Ronnie O’Sullivan has dismissed Shaun Murphy’s criticism of his attitude towards snooker as “water off my back”.
Murphy, 40, spoke out after the reigning world champion said snooker was “insignificant” to him.
The 2005 world champion said it was “frustrating” to hear O’Sullivan and other players talk about “how little the game means to them”.
“I am not interested in what anyone has got to say about me,” said the world number one in response.
O’Sullivan, who claimed last month that he lacks passion for the sport, added: “I absolutely vacated a long time ago.”
The 46-year-old maintained his recent fine form with a 6-0 hammering of China’s Zhou Yuelong to reach a 19th quarter-final in 21 appearances at the UK Championship in York.
He was asked by Murphy after the match, in his role as a pundit on BBC Two’s live coverage, if he had any words of advice for the 24-year-old Chinese player following such a heavy defeat.
“None,” replied O’Sullivan. “I am not here to give advice.”
He added: “You watch the first time I was on TV. I never had a problem with crowds and big occasions. The bigger the occasion, the more I liked it. If you can’t handle it, you are going to struggle.
“It’s in your make-up. I think you are born with the love of pressure and love of the big occasions. You can’t teach that. You have either got it or you haven’t. That’s why winners are winners and some people don’t win as much.”
O’Sullivan was also critical of the attitude shown by many players on the current world tour, saying none could handle the pressure in the way he, John Higgins or former world greats Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis could.
“Some guys are just happy to be here and have a laugh and a joke, some guys just have that pure intense desire, they just love the challenge and the competition,” said O’Sullivan, who won his first ranking title at the UK Championship in 1993, aged 17.
“Some people thrive on it, some people don’t like it. Some people like it for a while but then they just can’t handle it for that long because it is not easy.
“Dealing with pressure is not an easy thing. I have just grown to enjoy it.”
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